The
Boss Cat II was built by Arctic Enterprises for speed runs. It had a
chevy 327 punched out to 375 cubic inches. Roller rockers
and cam , Hilbourne injected , supercharged and running on
alcohol. Estimated 650 to 700 HP. Hydraulic disc brakes and
parachute for stopping. Two 20 1/2 wide tracks and quick
change rear end gear. 23 foot long, 6 foot wide and 30
inches high. Weight of 2300 lbs.
It caught fire at least two times, but they did have
on-board fire extinguishers and it did not suffer any real
damage. This has to be on many lists as one of the coolest 'sleds'
ever built. Arctic Cat created this beautiful machine in
1971 for the 1972 season. The Boss Cat II set an initial
record of 127 MPH and later went
130 MPH with Charles Lofton driving. It was the subject of much
controversy at the time, as many people felt it was not
really a snowmobile, but a car with tracks and skis. Never
the less, it gained the title of "World's Fastest Snowmobile"
and was a very successful marketing tool for Arctic Enterprises. So
what ever happened to the Boss Cat II? Racer Paul Groth
bought it from Arctic Enterprises in in 1983, when
they went under.
Paul repainted it and raced it as the Boss Cat II. He then
repainted it again, renamed it the
Bud Sno King, took a lot
of weight off, modified the motor and drove it 168 MPH.
Sometime later, Paul advertised it in Snow week (for sale:
one used Boss Cat II) and sold it to Vaughn Spurlock. Vaughn
kept it for 10 years to go along with his matching Boss Cat
III. Both sleds were sold to Rod Everts who held on to them
for 10 years. The Warning family bought both in 2004. They
finished restoration of the Boss Cat II in 2005 and are
working on the restoration of the Boss Cat III.
I have broken this area up in to three parts. The first 2 pages
are the vintage photos, the third page is of after the
restoration.